IRNA � The newly-elected President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev in a message condoled President Hassan Rouhani on the late Chairman of the Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani who passed away on Sunday.


In his message, Mirziyoyev expressed deep grief over Ayatollah Rafsanjani's departure, saying that he was one of the most prominent representative of Iranian nation who had great influence on the international scene and sacrificed his life for developing his country.

Uzbekistan Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov also took part in Iranian embassy in Uzbekistan to pay tribute and to sign the memorial book.

Ayatollah Rafsanjani died on January 8 (Sunday) at the age of 82 due to a heart attack in a Tehran hospital.

He was a close ally to the Father of the Islamic Revolution the late Imam Khomeini and also the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. Rafsanjani was a veteran cleric, a pillar of the Islamic Revolution and an influential politician, who served in different positions in the post-1979 Islamic Revolution era.